Do you have Trouble Remembering your Dreams? Thom Yorke, ANIMA, Album Review
- Ella Peebles
- Jul 22, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 7, 2020
There's something really pleasurable about sitting down to conduct an album review, and focusing on the music, to then find information surrounding the context of that album that intrigues you further. Thom Yorke is an intriguing and diverse individual, as well as an extremely talented musician. Best known for his work as the frontman in 'Radiohead', an alternative rock band from the 90's, ANIMA is Yorke's third solo album, and might just be his most ambitious and experimental one yet- musically and visually. The album is accompanied by a short fifteen minute film shown on Netflix, produced by Paul Thomas Anderson. It allows Yorke's artistic ability to create a visual take on his music and lyrics, similar to the video for "Daydreaming" in 2016, and as an avid lover of creative media, I found it really interesting. ANIMA is an electronica album that explores the modern side of musical technology, in a way that makes it sound old and new simultaneously. There is a real sense of vulnerability throughout ANIMA however, which, for me, makes it Thom Yorke's most successful album to date.
ANIMA was teased by an advertisement around London's landmarks, with ANIMA being a company that claimed to have invented a dream camera, in which you can re-watch previous dreams. As somewhat of a dream enthusiast myself, I was captivated by Yorke's ability to show this through his mixtures of sound, that attempt to mirror the human subconsciousness. It's almost like he was trying to put us into a dream of his own. It's hardly surprising that he's managed to do so; in a lot of Radiohead's music, especially later albums such as Kid A, electronica provides a central role in creating the individual hooks, and ironically, accompanies lyrics involving the scourge of modern technology. Radiohead certainly never shied away from giving their thoughts about the corruption of technology, from OK Computer to the critically acclaimed "pay what you want" scheme . Now, Yorke creates his own new personal spin with ANIMA, which allows him to explore this in even more detail.
The album's opener 'Traffic', is instantly reminiscent of Yorke's earlier works, and immediately provides us with this feeling of uncertainty and restlessness; the unsynchronised lyrics symbolising the randomness of thoughts that occur during periods of insomnia and sleep. The music fades in and out with the emotionally haunting vocal line, presenting a nice introduction to the rest of the album. As we go on, Yorke delves more into how we are disconnected from our own feelings, to show that society is very closed off. In a recent interview, he mentions that when people decide to turn themselves off from their own sadness, they're left to the mercy of themselves. The looped samples that create a polyphonic texture become prevalent throughout the album, and are almost representative of all these different emotions that we bury; it's one of the things I find most unique about the album, as there is a specific message beyond the fuzz of the low synth or background noise.
One of the things that Yorke based ANIMA on, is this idea of an anxiety driven state which is supported by a dystopian future, and he worked on the idea of these two connections. 'Last I Heard' looks at Yorke's view, following a period of jet lag, in which he had a dream about "humans the size of rats" showing his view on how the world could become subverted in the future, and essentially the fear that would accompany this. In the short film on Netflix, the people on the train are envisaged to show that they are machines that seem to be controlled or influenced by some otherworldly force, as the robotic movements are synchronised to the beat of 'Not the News.' The song builds up to a climax in an instrumental sense, as if "these people" are trying to break through an age in which they feel restricted and powerless in a world that favours the prosperous.
The stand out song on the album is 'Dawn Chorus', a song anticipated by Radiohead fans ever since an interview in 2009. The continually pressing low synth tones and consistent vocal line shows regret and despair in an unusually hopeful way- something that is very difficult to execute, hence why it took Yorke many years to complete it. Considering the album was created following a period of writer's block from Yorke, he still manages to convey his message in an effortless way, that just feels natural and necessary in a century where many people are filled with regret from not living out their life with "style." The hopeful vibes that I picked up on in this song come from the subtle changes in tempo towards the end, that possibly show that time is insignificant, and every day presents a new dawn for us, supported by the film, in which Yorke is accompanied by his new partner, Dajana Roncione.
ANIMA is undoubtedly an album in which the ambitious decisions really paid off, and made for a really fascinating review. For previous fans of Radiohead and Yorke, this album certainly doesn't disappoint, and for new listeners, the album really opens up doors that most artists would leave closed. Yorke still doesn't back down from political protest, is still curious about complex ideas in the human mind, and the album's sense of eerie normality allows you to really look at what's going on around you. Musically inventive; lyrically captivating, and visually stunning. If there's one clear message that we should all take from ANIMA, it's about learning to get in touch with your own thoughts and subconscious. So in the words of the man himself, "I'm daring you to turn yourselves on!"
Listen to: Traffic, Dawn Chorus, Not the News
Comments